Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Health Services and Residential Life Partnership Makes News in College Health

Ensuring students’ health, safety and well being takes a team approach, according to Kathleen Malara, MSN, FNP-BC, CTTS, director of Student Health Services at Fordham, and Greer Jason, Ph.D., assistant dean of students and director of Residential Life at Rose Hill.

Malara and Jason helped publicize Fordham’s model of holistic student care in an article, “Partnership between Health Services and Residential Life: A Confluence of Efforts, which they published in the spring 2011 issue of College Health in Action, the member newsletter of the American College Health Association.

Malara and Jason outlined the key partnerships that enable Health Services and Residential Life to best meet the diverse needs of students.

These partnerships include:

Fordham University EMS Reporting (FUEMS), an on-campus health care source staffed by volunteer students who are first responders and/or emergency medical technicians. FUEMS provides round-the-clock emergency care and hospital transports, and Health Services follows up to provide status reports on the students to Residential Life.

Counseling Concerns Case Conference (CCCC), a monthly check-in of Health Services and Residential Life staff, as well as other administrators from Counseling and Psychological Services, Substance Abuse Prevention and Student Support, Disability Services, Campus Ministry, and Academic Affairs, among others. The meeting informs University staff about students struggling with a variety of issues, from physical and mental health concerns to academic difficulties.

Housing Accommodation Process, a partnership between Health Services and Residential Life to serve students who request housing accommodations for medical reasons.

University Emergency Management Team (EMT) and Pandemic Response, a coordinated response to an individual or communal health crisis on campus. In 2009-2010, Health Services and Residential Life coordinated with EMT members from across the campus in minimizing the impact of the H1N1 influenza outbreak.

“Regular contact between Health Services and Residential Life often results in the discovery of a community health concern that may need attention, a population in need of education, or an opportunity to improve our work,” Malara and Jason stated.

“Without an open line of communication, effectively addressing community concerns is not possible.”